Hikmah: The Simple Beauty of Islam!!

Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem

Hikmah: The Simple Beauty of Islam

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The purpose of this essay, InshaAllah, is to present a basic introduction to Hikmah - that is, to the knowledge (al-ilm) which is Al-Islam.It is unfortunate that for too long Muslims, trying to understand the nature of our existence, of reality, of al-ilm, have used the terms and often the arguments of the Greek and later philosophers. This was true, for instance, of Ibn Rushd and Al-Ghazali, among others.The basis for a correct Muslim understanding of Hikmah, and all that derives from it, is the Quran and the Sunnah, and these alone. This is so because a Muslim is a person who, affirming the Shahadah, looks to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and His Messenger (salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) and regards the Quran as the true, the literal, kalam of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.What this amounts to, in practical terms, is that we refer to the Quran for our terms, for our concepts - as well as for Hikmah and al-ilm. To use the terms of Greek philosophy - or modern, Western, philosophy - is incorrect, and amounts to an imitation of the kuffar. Why? Because we are then seeking to interpret, or re-interpret, the Quran, and even the Sunnah, in such kaffir terms, whereas the Quran is unique and kalamu Allah - and, as Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says:
"The genesis of truth is Allah alone, so do not be among those who do not believe." (3:60 Interpretation of Meaning)Furthermore, it needs to be made clear, at the outset, that the Quran does not have an outward (dhir) and an inner, or esoteric (batin) meaning, as maintained by several Sufis, and others. As Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says:
"It is He who gave to you this Book wherein are muhkan Ayat that are umm al-Kitab, and others which are mutashabih." (3:7 Interpretation of Meaning)Those mutashabih Ayat can often be understood by reference to Ahadith, to other Ayat - and if they cannot, there is certainly no hidden, or ancient esoteric knowledge, by some teacher, or Sufi "master", to "explain" them. There is, or may be, InshaAllah, dhikr which may bring us closer to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, to hikmah.
"He gives Al-Hikmah to whomsoever He wills." (2:269 Interpretation of Meaning)"Remembrance of Allah is best..." (29:45 Interpretation of Meaning)"It is through remembrance of Allah that the heart discovers rest." (13:28 Interpretation of Meaning)What we need to remember in this respect is that our beloved Prophet (salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) and the Shahabah (Radiallaahu Anhum) and the Tabiun did not seek to clarify, or explain, many of the "unclear" things in the Quran - a point made by Ibn Taymayyah in his Minhaj as-Sunnah in respect of the Minhaj al-Karamah of al-Hilli (the Shia). Why did they not do this? Because, as will become clear, al-Hikmah is Al-Islam, and Islam is a Way of Life - a means to live this mortal life in accordance with the Will of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. In simple terms: enjoining the good, forbidding the bad, and Jihad, are often more important than discussions about the meaning of some words. There is a great understanding of human nature - of the real purpose of our lives - here, as there is, of course, the perfect example of our beloved Prophet (salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) for us to follow.
"Let those who would trade the life of this world for the life Hereafter fight in the Cause of Allah. And those who do fight in the Cause of Allah - whether they be killed or are victorious - will have bestowed on them, by Us, a great reward." (94: 74 Interpretation of Meaning)Furthermore, we simply do not need the so-called explanations and expositions of Islam given to us over the centuries by those Muslims who have sought, for whatever reason, to use the terms, the language, the ideas, of the West, of the kuffar. In truth, there is no such thing as Muslim "philosophy" - there is only al-Hikmah, al-ilm - the truths - which Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala in His Mercy has given to us. To know Islam, to live Islam, to understand Islam, is to know the source of these things. Of course, the kuffar, and the modernist Muslims and apostates, would disagree with this, and may even call this "ignorance" (or whatever) - but always the basis for their disagreement with us is their acknowledgment, whether admitted by them or not, that the West, the ways, the thought, the philosophy, the ideas, the concepts, of the kuffar are somehow "better" or more important than what has been given to us by Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, and that we, according to them, "must" use these kaffir things in order to have knowledge and wisdom. For such apostates and modernist Muslims, knowledge and wisdom are what the kuffar believe them to be - not what Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has told us they are. That is, these apostates and modernist Muslims have forsaken, or seem to have forsaken, that simple, beautiful, submission to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala which is Islam.Hikmah and al-ilmHikmah - often translated as wisdom - is what Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala informs us it is. This is the beginning and the end of the matter.Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says:
"These are the Ayat of the Book [al-Kitab] of al-Hikmah." (31:2 Interpretation of Meaning)That is, al-Hikmah is the Quran. Could anything be more clear, more precise?
"We gave al-Hikmah to Luqman, and he said: 'Give praise and thanks to Allah'..." (31:12 Interpretation of Meaning)"I have provided you with a Book, and Hikmah - and then a Messenger [Rasool] confirming [these]..." (3:81 Interpretation of Meaning)The kalamu Allah is clear - it is simple submission to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, a simple duty to follow the Way of Al-Islam as given in the Quran and Sunnah.
"Correct guidance is the guidance of Allah." (3:73 Interpretation of meaning)"This day I have perfected your Way of Life for you and completed My Favour upon you and have chosen for you as your Way of Life Al-Islam" (5:3 Interpretation of Meaning)"And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, such are the Kafiroon." [5:44 Interpretation of meaning]"It is not for the believer - man or woman - when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter, that they should have any option in their decision. For whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has indeed strayed into plain error." (33:36 Interpretation of Meaning)Al-ilm is also what Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala informs us it is:
"Among His subjects, it is those that fear Allah who have knowledge." (35:28 Interpretation of Meaning)"And those who have been given al-ilm have been given that so that they may know that it (this Quran) is the truth from their Rabb, and that they may believe therein, and that their hearts may submit to it with humility. For, in truth, Allah is the Guide, of those who believe, to the Straight Path." ( 22:54 Interpretation of Meaning)What is also clear, is that the kuffar are ignorant, devoid of Hikmah - because they conceal the simple, yet profound, truth of Tawheed with their words, their concepts, their philosophy, their ways of life, and because they refuse to bow down in simple submission to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, and refuse to obey Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and His Messenger (salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam). What is authentic for us, is the Quran and Sunnah; what is "authentic" for them, and their philosophies, is what they consider, or deem to be, authentic. Their mistake is and has been to posit things such as reason, or an object and a subject, or a Creator and what is created, and then seek to understand or explain things in terms of, or in relation to, these other things they have posited, whereas we know and accept what Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has said in the Quran as the truth. Those who fail to understand this, fail to understand the simple beauty that is Al-Islam.The Simple Beauty of Islam:It should be abundantly clear that Islam is simple - that being a Muslim is simple. There is, for a Muslim, the simple acknowledgment of two things. First, of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala as our Rabb, as The One Who created us, Who defines us, Who has determined the meaning and purpose of our lives.
"Allah (alone) has power over, and is the (sole) master of, all things. The creations in Heaven and Earth, the very change of Night to Day, are Signs for those gifted with intelligence, those who whether sitting, standing or reclining on their sides, give praise to Allah and who frequently recall these creations in Heaven and Earth, (saying): 'You who are our Rabb - You created all these things for a purpose; the achievement is Yours alone.' " (3:189-191 Interpretation of Meaning)"Allah knows all things..." (3:34)Second, there is an acknowledgment of Muhammad (salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) as the Messenger and Prophet of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.Since Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has said that our Way of Al-Islam is complete and perfect, we accept that it is. We further accept that Hikmah is contained in the Quran which also contains knowledge about the real purpose of our lives.
"And this (Islam and the Quran) is the straight path of your Rabb. For those who take heed of Our clear revelations there shall be that dwelling which is peace (Jannah). (6:126-7 Interpretation of meaning)"Every soul shall taste death. We shall try you in good and bad ordeals, and to the Unity you shall return." ( 21:35 Interpretation of meaning.)There is purity, a wonderful beauty, in Islam - a purity, a beauty, that the words, the ideas, the beliefs, the ways, the philosophy, of the kuffar all distance us from.
"Thus We have made you [Muslims], a Wasat (just and the best) people, that you be witnesses over all other peoples as the Messenger (Muhammad) is a witness over you." (2: 143 Interpretation of Meaning).May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala forgive us for our mistakes and may He guide us to and keep us on the Right Path.Abdul-Aziz1425